You can go back, almost. "Long and rambling."

[Dell]

I fished the St. Maries river today for the first time in almost 50 yrs. The river 50 yrs. ago was for most purposes a wild river, the area had been logged first in the late 1800's and early 1900's. It was a stream that my father and his father first fished in 1918 and then when my father aquired a family of his own I and my brother went along too. I caught my first Cutthroat in 1936 from a tributary of the main river when I was 9. That strem now has little or no water running in it due to the logging. I went a lot as I was growing up but then the land in the valley was cleared for crops and the water would get real low and warm in the summers so that the trout left and the suckers and squawfish were all that could be caught. The land has stabilized and run off is not as bad as it used to be and with strict catch limits and the introduction of brown trout has made it a some what viable fishery. I didn't catch a lot of fish but managed to get enough to make the trip worth while even if it was mostly a nostalgia thing. This trip was not quite the same as 50 yrs. ago, instead of a creek bank willow pole and a grasshopper for bait, I fished with a bamboo rod I built and dry flies. You can go back, almost Dell  Dell & Marie Coppock [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] eboard.com/dellc eboard.com/showcase